Raq baby continues to tweak and mature his sound with experience and age, resulting in a project that celebrates his rise — and puts him in the class of the next great street poets.
Raq baby has just announced that his new project I NEVER GAVE AF will be out on 9/10, and shared his new single “Switch Crowd” (feat. FattMack) — out now via SantaAnnaRecords. After premiering “Switch Crowd” (feat. FattMack) through a Don Wong performance last week, the official release of the new single finds the pair of Southern rappers trading autotune-infused bars through a melodic flow over a euphoric beat, as Raq baby embraces his rising stature – “Who the fuck you playin’ with? Know I been one”. Marking Raqbaby’s third collaboration with Alabama rapper FattMack, following “Two 15’s” and “Fake Love” alongside BAKJay, “Switch Crowd” is the latest release in Raq baby‘s ongoing run of singles paving the way for his forthcoming project I NEVER GAVE AF, dropping on 9/10, set to serve as the follow-up to March’s More Spill which featured fan-favorites like “Belt Boyz” (24M+ Streams) and “What They Told Me” (10M+ Streams), and built on the viral energy of his 2024 mixtape Spill Season. The forthcoming I NEVER GAVE AF will cap off a breakout year for Raqbaby, which found him supporting SahBabii on the Resurrection Tour, and continuing a steady stream of releases that has included “Goodbyerz” (highlighted by The FADER who drew comparisons to “prime Lil Uzi”), “Mental Breakdown”, and the Childish Gambino-sampling “Stick Up” (12M+ Streams). At just 20 years old, Raq baby has drawn attention for his playful, sample-heavy sound, sold out his first headlining shows in Chicago, Atlanta, and Charlotte, and effectively positioned himself as a captivating, rising voice in Atlanta’s next generation.
Originally hailing from Chicago’s South Side, Raq baby grew up in Atlanta and has steadily built a hyper-online following for his melodic, Drill-inspired take on the Trap sound. He first exploded onto the scene in 2023 with viral hit “Soldier Love”, and after turning heads with projects like Abstruse, November 2024 saw him release Spill Season, which peaked at #15 on Apple Music‘s All Genre Albums Chart and #8 on the Rap/Hip-Hop Chart and currently boasts over 74 million streams to date. The rapper has also earned major co-signs along the way, with collabs with YTB Fatt (“3am”), VonOff1700 (“Daytona”), and Jdot Breezy (“Green Goblin”) already under his belt, in addition to support from Rylo Rodriguez. Now, Raq baby is setting the stage for his next act, gearing up to capitalize on the momentum he’s been building towards all year with the forthcoming release of I NEVER GAVE AF.
